Mike Youmans

Senior living’s next wave will not be defined by simply adding more technology to buildings. It will be defined by communities that can understand residents’ daily rhythms, respond earlier when needs change, and protect independence without turning safety into confinement.

In this opening keynote, a Senior Housing News moderator will lead a conversation with Intrex and Kendal at Ithaca on what it means to move from passive buildings and disconnected alerts to more responsive senior living environments. Using Kendal at Ithaca’s real-world deployment of Rythmos as a case example, the discussion will explore how communities can use real-time awareness, resident-specific baselines, and better operational workflows to support each person’s health journey with as much independence as possible.

The panel will address the practical questions senior living leaders are asking now: How do we preserve resident dignity while improving safety? How do we reduce alert noise instead of adding to staff burden? How should operators think about fall risk, wander risk, wellness, and resident engagement as connected parts of the same operating picture? And how can technology support human judgment rather than replace it?

Attendees will leave with an executive-level framework for evaluating community intelligence infrastructure across operations, memory care, resident experience, staff workflow, and long-term scalability.